Operation Iraqi Freedom veteran sounds off on perception of war

"I think George Bush is more popular in Iraq than he is in this country. Seventy percent of the Iraqis are in favor of coalition forces being there."

John Mallon, a member of the Army Reserve's 326th Area Support Group, talked to Iraqi civilians in Baghdad while recruiting bus drivers for Al-Asad, a U.S. air base in Western Iraq, during his recent tour of duty. Iraqis' primary concern is not getting rid of U.S. troops; it is taking care of their basic needs, he said.

"Forty percent are unemployed there," he said. "All they want to do is work, earn money, buy food and eat."

Mallon said Americans should be patient while Iraqis prepare to take over security for their own nation.

"I think it would be premature to pull the plug and leave," he said. "This won't take a couple months, it will take years."

Mallon thinks it will be about two years before U.S. troops will be able to leave Iraq.

"But you can't put a timetable on this," he said. "What we'll do is take each province one at a time and give it back to the Iraqi people - that's the plan."

It will take time to train and equip the Iraqi military, Mallon said. The country no longer has an air force, and the coalition has not even begun to rebuild that. In fact, one of the Iraqi bus drivers he hired is a former fighter pilot.

The insurgents want to keep Iraq from becoming a successful democracy, Mallon said.

"Their goal is to have a civil war, free Saddam (Hussein) from jail and take over the country," he said. "I hope, when this is all over, Iraq will be a moderate Arab country - like Jordan - and that, whatever happens, they will not be a threat in the region anymore."

It bothers Mallon that the coalition's massive reconstruction efforts receive so little attention in the United States. Coalition forces are working on the roads and on restoring water and electrical service, Mallon said.

"Now, they have an unlimited number of radio stations, they're watching TV," he said. "We also now are helping the schools reopen, but the insurgent attacks are not making it easy."

Mallon, who is also a Vietnam-era veteran, also dislikes the fact that some U.S. citizens are protesting the war.

"The protesters, what they will do if they continue, is they will destroy the esteem of our returning soldiers," he said. "They will make us feel like we're bad people for serving in uniform. I'm afraid that what the Jane Fonda crowd will do today is drive the Persian Gulf veterans into the closet."

Mallon is proud of his service, he said.

"I'm not ashamed of my service in Iraq," he said. "I volunteered for this. I think all veterans should stand tall and stand proud."